What is it that makes a television show a particularly great one, or that makes it highly memorable, or that makes it eminently rewatchable time after time?

Is it the actors? The characters and the interaction between them? The surroundings? The writing? The direction? The photography? The atmosphere? The music? Or the believability of the stories being told on the screen?

The answer, of course, is "All of the above". And when a TV series comes along that earns very high marks in every single one of the above-mentioned categories, as I believe "The Fugitive" (the original 1960s version) easily accomplishes, then I think it's safe to say that such a television program is deserving of an ample amount of attention (and praise).

And it's for those reasons I am proud to call Quinn Martin's "The Fugitive" one of my favorite TV series of all-time....and certainly my very favorite drama series ever shown on television.

For four seasons, David Janssen starred as Richard Kimble, a soft-spoken doctor who was falsely convicted of his wife's murder.* Dr. Kimble was kept running for 120 TV episodes from 1963 to 1967.

The first 15 of those shows are presented in this nicely-done, 4-Disc DVD boxed set from CBS/Paramount Television.

* = For those people who are totally unfamiliar with this TV series, the above declaration of Kimble's innocence is not a "spoiler" of any kind. And that's because the viewing audience is told, point-blank, within the first few seconds of the opening credits of the very first episode that Dr. Richard Kimble is "innocent" of the murder charge for which he was convicted.

"The Fugitive" made its debut at 10:00 PM (east-coast time) on Tuesday, September 17, 1963, when ABC-TV aired the pilot episode, "Fear In A Desert City".

The final show of the series ("The Judgment"), which was first broadcast in the United States in August of 1967, is one of the highest-rated television programs ever. At the time of its initial airing, in fact, "The Judgment Part 2" surpassed all records and became the single most-watched program ever aired in the USA. It was eclipsed 13 years later by an episode of "Dallas" (and then by the final episode of "M*A*S*H" in 1983).

David Janssen was interviewed by Joey Bishop just hours before the final episode of "The Fugitive" aired on August 29, 1967. Jokingly, Janssen said to Bishop: "I killed her, Joey. She talked too much." ;)

You can hear that 9-minute interview here:

In addition to its always well-written scripts, much of the enjoyment of "The Fugitive" (for me) lies in its instantly-recognizable music, composed by Pete Rugolo. The main title theme plus the wide variety of mood-enhancing musical cues and "bridges" used in each episode evoke singular thoughts and memories of this 1960s TV series. It's impossible to imagine any other music being used for this show. It's utterly perfect for this program.

Not all of the music we hear in "The Fugitive" was written by Rugolo, however. Some of the background musical arrangements for parts of the episodes were taken from Hollywood's vast library of "stock" music. But this music blends in nicely with Rugolo's classic compositions. Some of the "Fugitive" music can also be found in other popular TV shows of that era, like "The Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits".

Interestingly enough (at least it's interesting to me, as a fan of both shows), I have learned from this list of music credits that Pete Rugolo also contributed some of the music that can be heard in the 1957-1963 TV comedy series "Leave It To Beaver".

"The Fugitive" also benefited greatly from a very talented cast....beginning, of course, with David Janssen as the title character. Sadly, Janssen (born David Harold Meyer) died way too soon, passing away of a heart attack in February 1980. He hadn't even turned 50. David was nominated for an Emmy Award three times during his 4-year stint as the perpetually running physician on "The Fugitive".

Janssen's performance as Richard Kimble, right from the get-go in "Fear In A Desert City", somehow already seemed refined and tuned to just the right pitch. It's really quite remarkable that Janssen was able to accomplish such a "veteran" feel to his character after just a single episode.

The series, in my opinion, also possessed just the right "feel" to it starting with the very first show. Many TV series fail to reach full stride or their full potential in their rookie season. I'd say that "The Fugitive", thanks to a great cast and the top-notch writing and directing, was a series that didn't suffer from this common problem.

Dr. Kimble's chief nemesis throughout the four-year run of the series was Indiana Police Lieutenant Philip Gerard, played to absolute perfection by London-born actor Barry Morse.

Morse's portrayal of Gerard counters Janssen's Kimble to a tee. Invariably, the very best "Fugitive" episodes were the ones in which Gerard was on screen, physically pursuing his elusive prey.

Morse/Gerard is relentless in his pursuit of the prisoner who slipped through his grasp when fate intervened. But, then too, Gerard isn't overly ruthless or blood-thirsty. He still maintains some level of compassion and kindness, even though his #1 priority in every episode in which he appears is to do his duty as "an instrument of the law" and re-capture Dr. Kimble.

The character of Philip Gerard actually appeared in less than 40 of the 120 episodes during the series (not counting the opening credits, where he is always shown). It truly seemed, though, as if Morse had actually appeared in many additional episodes. Gerard's "presence" is felt in nearly every show. But in most of them he's not physically shown on camera.

Raisch, by the way, really did have an arm missing. He lost part of his right arm during World War 2, after being badly burned while fighting a fire.

Also worthy of an endorsement is William Conrad, who is never seen on the screen, but who has a strong presence in every episode as the very capable narrator. Conrad's booming voice is heard at the start of each show throughout the series (except one, "The Girl From Little Egypt"), as he smoothly ushers the audience into Richard Kimble's world.

We also hear Conrad again at the end of every episode, at the conclusion of the "Epilog" scene, when he often reminds us of Dr. Kimble's ongoing predicament -- "This is the way it is with him....because Richard Kimble is....a fugitive."

In addition to its stellar main cast and narrator, "The Fugitive" offered up plenty of opportunities to feature a large selection of Hollywood talent in supporting roles. Many top-name actors appeared in the series.

Some of my all-time favorite "Fuge" episodes are located within the very first season of the series, including a few of the 15 shows we find in this DVD set -- such as: "Fear In A Desert City", "The Girl From Little Egypt", "Nightmare At Northoak", and the two-parter "Never Wave Goodbye".

Actually, in my opinion, "Volume 2" of the first season of "The Fugitive" (which is bound to follow this first volume in relatively short order; knock wood) will contain even a better batch of overall episodes than Volume 1.

When the second half of Season 1 emerges on DVD, some of the top-flight Fugitive offerings that we'll be in store for include: "Search In A Windy City", "Somebody To Remember", "The End Game", "Rat In A Corner", and the superb two-part episode "Angels Travel On Lonely Roads" (with Eileen Heckart giving a "heavenly" performance [pun, pun] as Kimble's travelling companion).

===================

"PQ" TALK (AND OTHER STUFF):

The DVD video quality for these fifteen "Volume 1" programs is stunning ... glorious ... fabulous ... picture-perfect (take your pick from any of these descriptive terms, because I think they all apply).

I was immediately struck by the superior image clarity right from the very first moments of the premiere episode ("Fear In A Desert City"), as Richard Kimble's bus pulls into the Tucson terminal. Just fantastic. (Some sample images from the DVDs are shown below, courtesy DVDBeaver.com.)

Each of these episodes has been "transferred from the original negative with restored audio" (per a notation on the back of the DVD box). And you can hardly ask for more than that.

The superb black-and-white photography that helps propel each of these episodes looks incredibly clean and crisp and almost blemish-free on these DVDs. A little bit of grain and/or a few dirt specks pop up here and there....but the overall grade for the "PQ" on this DVD set can't be anything less than an "A", in my opinion.

The deep blacks that make up the many night shots and shadowy scenes contained within many of these episodes are simply beautiful, even when viewed on a large-screen TV.

The mono audio sounds quite good too, with Pete Rugolo's incomparable music coming through in fine style here.

The DVD packaging claims that some music "has been changed" for this Paramount DVD release, and that "some episodes may be edited from their original network versions".

I, however, haven't been able to detect any major changes or edits of any kind. Perhaps there are a few and I haven't noticed them; I'm not sure. But the average episode running time on these four discs is more than 51 minutes per show....so if anything has been cut out, it sure can't amount to very much.

About the only "change" that I can see pertains to the opening credits for the first episode. That show's opening on the DVD could possibly be a slightly different version of the title sequence from what originally aired on TV in 1963.

And there's also a different piece of music utilized during the "Desert City" opening when compared with a VHS tape I have for that episode, which could conceivably account for each of the package disclaimers for this DVD release (the parts about both "music" and "edits").

Note: When originally aired, the first season of the series did not include any "previews" at the start of each episode. Those "coming up next" type of preview scenes weren't included until Season #2.

===================

MORE DVD SPECS:

DVD Packaging: A standard style plastic "Keepcase" has been used for this 4-Disc set, which nicely holds the four discs in a compact manner via an extra "page" that has been inserted inside the case which holds Discs 2 and 3.

The case is clear, with episode information visible on the inner panels of the case (when Discs 1 and 4 are removed, that is). I would have liked it if a quick-reference episode list had also been printed on the back cover of the DVD case. That would have been handy. Paramount has done just that for other TV-DVD products, including several sets of "The Andy Griffith Show".

Overall, though, I like this packaging style. This is the first multi-disc DVD set I've bought which uses this type of case, and it's a real space-saver, to be sure.

Bonus Material: None (except for a few "Previews" advertising some other DVDs, viewable on Disc 1 only). It's too bad that a few audio commentaries couldn't have found their way onto this collection of discs. A few years ago I heard a rumor about Barry Morse and Jacqueline Scott possibly recording some commentary tracks for a future "Fugitive" DVD release; but evidently that rumor never panned out (at least not for this first set of DVDs anyway).

Video: Original TV ratio of 1.33:1 (Full Frame). All episodes are in crisp, exquisite-looking black-and-white.

Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. In English only.

Subtitles: None. But English "Closed Captioning" is available for all fifteen shows. Just remember to switch off "Progressive Scanning" on your DVD player. If you don't turn that off, the captions will never appear on screen. At least it's that way with all Panasonic DVD players that I've owned. It's possible that other players vary regarding this strange "captioning" anomaly.

Chapter Stops?: Yes. There are 7 chapters per episode, with each break coming at appropriate locations throughout each program -- at the end of each "Act", as well as a break just after the opening credits and right after the "Epilog" scene. I very much like the ability to go straight to the very beginning of a particular "Act" in any episode via these DVDs. This chaptering was perfectly done by Paramount. And it's just another small factor that makes this DVD product an excellent one, in my own opinion.

Paper Enclosures: None.

Menus: Non-animated. No music. There are no Sub-Menus at all. Each disc has a simple but efficient Main Menu which provides access to that disc's three or four episodes (plus a "Play All" option).

===================

THE EPISODES:

Here's a look at the 15 programs that fill up these four "Season 1/Volume 1" discs. I've also listed the aliases that Richard Kimble used for each episode; plus I've added the original TV air dates and a few selected comments of my own for some of the shows. .....

1. "Fear In A Desert City" (First Aired: September 17, 1963) .... Alias: "James Lincoln". .... "The Fugitive" burst onto American television screens with a great amount of style right off the bat, via this spectacular debut/pilot episode.

The brilliant series-opening program gives us our first look at David Janssen's perfectly-controlled portrayal of the falsely-accused doctor from Indiana who was sentenced to death after being convicted of murdering his wife, Helen. A train wreck freed Dr. Kimble on his way to the "death house". Thus, Kimble's four-year TV flight from the law begins with this first exciting episode.

From this very first show, we (the audience) can feel the tension that surrounds Richard Kimble. It's also quite easy for the viewing audience, right from this initial episode, to feel a great deal of empathy (and sympathy) for Dr. Kimble and his plight, by way of the fabulous writing that exists within this script (and virtually all those that followed it).

The first "Fuge" has Kimble tending bar at the "Branding Iron Saloon" in Tucson, Arizona, where he soon becomes embroiled in the lives of the saloon's lovely piano player (played by Vera Miles) and her abusive and hot-headed husband (Brian Keith).

Miles and Keith are both excellent in their "Desert City" roles -- particularly Keith, who is savagely brutal and menacing here, to the point of being downright scary. Keith plays "Ed Welles", who teems with a raging fury that practically burns through the TV screen. It's a fabulous performance.

"Fear In A Desert City", which was directed by Walter Grauman and written by Stanford Whitmore, also co-stars Barney Phillips, Harry Townes, and Dabbs Greer.

Just days prior to filming the pilot episode, David Janssen said this to director Walter Grauman:

"Wally, you're really going to have to help me. I've been used to doing 'Richard Diamond'; all this shallow shit. There's a lot of character here with Richard Kimble. I don't know whether I can act it."

Well....the rest, as they say, is Fugitive History. I'd say David's worries were unfounded. He did, indeed, "act it"....and did it very well too.

Another interesting piece of trivia concerning the pilot show -- David Janssen suffered three broken ribs during the fight scene with Brian Keith in Act IV of the first episode. It was the first of many physical injuries that David sustained during the making of the 120 episodes of this TV series.

Also worth noting is the fact that Janssen suffered his rib injuries on the very first day of filming the pilot episode in Tucson, Arizona. And it took 10 additional days to complete the filming of that premiere show (and filming was not stopped due to David's injury), which means that for ten days Janssen worked with a mighty sore ribcage.

More great tidbits about "The Fugitive" and its talented star, David Janssen, can be found at "The David Janssen Archive" (which I also hyperlinked earlier in this review). A couple of the internal webpages located within that Internet site that I found very intriguing and entertaining are linked below:

3. "The Other Side Of The Mountain" (October 1, 1963) .... No alias used.

4. "Never Wave Goodbye"; Part 1 (October 8, 1963) .... Alias: "Jeff Cooper". .... Episode Intro by Barry Morse. .... The series would occasionally incorporate a "Two-Parter", with this being the first such example. The ingenuity and shrewdness of both Kimble and Lt. Gerard are fully evident in this top-notch 2-part program, with Kimble (naturally) slipping through Gerard's fingers yet again, via a rather clever scheme of faking his own death.

5. "Never Wave Goodbye"; Part 2 (October 15, 1963) .... Alias: "Jeff Cooper". .... Episode Intro by Barry Morse. .... I enjoy revisiting this two-part episode often. I've had it on VHS videotape for many years now, but that "Republic Entertainment" VHS copy can't hold a candle, quality-wise, to the prints of "Never Wave Goodbye" that are found on this Paramount DVD release.

My 1998 VHS version of "Goodbye" has warbly-sounding music at times and I think the two shows might be sped up a little bit, shortening the running times to about 49 minutes per episode, instead of the proper 51+ minutes which this DVD collection maintains. (God bless DVD!)

8. "See Hollywood And Die" (November 5, 1963) .... Alias: "Al Fleming". .... It's yet another strong acting turn for Mr. Janssen, as he spends the bulk of this episode pretending to be a real bad guy in the company of two kidnappers who abduct guest star Brenda Vaccaro. It's actually kind of a "double" performance we find here, with Janssen portraying Richard Kimble, and Kimble playing a part of his own.

11. "Nightmare At Northoak" (November 26, 1963) .... Alias: "George Porter". .... Regarded by many as one of the top shows of the whole series, "Northoak" combines several different plot-developing elements that helped make this TV series such a great one for four consecutive seasons, e.g.:

The never-ending chase of Dr. Kimble by Lt. Gerard (and this time the detective actually catches up with the good doctor, only to lose him in the end); plus: Kimble's own heroism (he rescues several children from a burning school bus here); plus: Kimble's habit of continually--and inadvertently--running into law-enforcement officials during his travels (in "Northoak", he's nursed back to health by the local sheriff and his wife after being injured while saving the children on the bus).

"Northoak" is, indeed, a dandy episode, and a big reason for that (IMO) is because we get to watch Kimble and Gerard interact with each another during a terrific jail-cell scene, during which we get to see David Janssen really sink his teeth into his role of Dr. Richard Kimble (i.e., an embittered, tired, and completely-innocent fugitive from justice).

During that extraordinary jail scene, Kimble's anger and frustration come pouring out, as he confronts Gerard with one of the best lines from the series: "Your nightmare is when I'm dead, you'll find him."

14. "The Girl From Little Egypt" (December 24, 1963) .... Aliases: "George Browning" and "George Norton". .... Intro by Barry Morse. .... This excellent episode, for the first time in the series, lays out the backstory of Richard Kimble's plight. And getting to see a pre-fugitive "salt-&-pepper"-haired Dr. Kimble during a few scenes in "Little Egypt" is a rare treat indeed.

15. "Home Is The Hunted" (January 7, 1964) .... No alias used. .... This fifteen-show collection concludes with this dandy installment, which has Dr. Kimble travelling back home to Stafford, Indiana, for the first time in the series to touch base again with his father (played by Robert Keith), his sister Donna (Jacqueline Scott), and younger brother Ray (Andrew Prine).

Prine, IMO, is particularly impressive in his role as Ray Kimble, who has some doubts about his brother's innocence (until Act IV of this episode, that is).

"Home Is The Hunted" also includes Lt. Gerard bearing down on Kimble once again. (It's just a good thing that Gerard didn't catch a glimpse of that bottle of hair dye at the Kimble family home.)

Billy Mumy and Clint Howard (Ron's brother) also appear in this 15th show of the series, as Donna's two young sons.

===================

FURTHER FUGE FUN:

If you'd like to see what my ultimate "Fugitive Fantasy DVD" would look like, you can check this webpage.

That page links to one of the several "Fugitive" VHS videotapes that have been released over the years. And that particular tape features two of the very finest Fuge installments, "Nemesis" and "World's End", both from Season #2 of the series.

If that "Dream DVD" of mine ever gets produced, it will be ample proof that miracles truly are possible. :)

===================

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

David Janssen's portrayal of Dr. Richard Kimble ("an innocent victim of blind justice") is low-key and subtle and understated. Richard Kimble, though, through Janssen's patented "twitch" or a faint smile or just a silent look, can move a viewer emotionally. At least I think he can....and he does (often) throughout the four-year lifespan of one of the best television programs to ever appear in American living rooms -- "The Fugitive".

This 4-Disc DVD collection is the first of what will hopefully be eight such DVD sets of "The Fugitive" to be released by Paramount. Each of the four seasons of this series positively deserves the right to be digitally preserved for eternity onto the Digital Disc format. It's just too good a series to not be treated with such respect. And that includes even the final year of the series, which was the only season filmed in color.

That fourth season does contain a few lesser-quality episodes, IMO, but there are still many first-rate gems and pulse-pounding "Gerard Chasing Kimble" entries to be found among the thirty shows of Season 4, too.

But to begin your wonderful and wandering journey into the sometimes-frantic and always-interesting life of "The Fugitive", you'll want to pick up this DVD set with the first 15 episodes from Season 1.

If there was ever a "must have" TV-on-DVD set to own and collect, this would certainly rank as one such set, in my Fuge-favoring opinion. And I'd be willing to bet the one-armed man's remaining limb that almost everyone else who buys this DVD collection will agree with that "collectible" assessment as well.

CBS/Paramount delivered "THE FUGITIVE: SEASON 1, VOLUME 2" in the form of a compact 4-Disc DVD set on February 26, 2008. This fifteen-episode set finishes off the distinguished inaugural season of David Janssen's breathtaking television series from the 1960s.

Janssen's title character, Dr. Richard Kimble, encounters many twists, turns, sheriffs, helpful strangers, and assorted close calls with his chief rival (Indiana police lieutenant Philip Gerard) during the second half of his first season on the run. Gerard was played with great skill and style by the great actor Barry Morse, who passed away at age 89 on February 2, 2008.

This collection of episodes offers up some real dandies from the 4-year history of "The Fugitive" too, with a few of my own personal favorites being:

"Search In A Windy City", "Somebody To Remember", "The End Game", "Rat In A Corner", and the virtually-perfect two-parter "Angels Travel On Lonely Roads".

While the above episodes rate as some of my top picks from this batch of shows, every single one of these programs actually earns high marks on my quality meter. Each installment in the series always offers up something good and entertaining....beginning with the always-solid performances of Mr. Janssen.

The wrongly-accused doctor from Indiana travels from town to town, and job to job, and girl to girl, while performing the dual task of avoiding the law and attempting to locate the one-armed man whom Kimble is convinced killed his wife two years earlier.

And in episode #19 of this first season (which is part of this boxed set), Dr. Kimble comes face-to-face with that one-armed man for the first time since the night of Helen Kimble's murder. It's one of the most thrilling moments in the whole series, as Kimble gets a brief glance of one-armed Fred Johnson on a bus near Chicago.

For me, one of the most rewarding things about this television series is that these hour-long dramas never get tiresome to watch....no matter how many times I have seen them. Like a good wine, "The Fugitive" only gets better with age, and with multiple viewings too.

And the fantastic music that accompanies each episode (most of which was composed by Peter Rugolo) certainly doesn't hurt things a bit either. The music is just made to order for this series. And, quite literally, a goodly portion of it truly was made to order, being written by Rugolo specifically for "The Fugitive".

For the trivia-minded, "The Fugitive" was named "Best New Show" of the 1963-1964 season by "TV Guide" magazine. During the first year of the series, David Janssen, as the on-the-lam Dr. Kimble, was seen by an average of 21-million people every Tuesday night.

Paramount has restored and remastered these "Fugitive" TV prints very nicely ("transferred from the original negative with restored audio", per the back of the DVD case). And, just like the Season 1, Volume 1 collection, this second 15-show set provides outstanding video quality. Just about perfect as far as I can tell.

The first-rate black-and-white photography comes through in fine fashion on these four DVDs, with very little to complain about (even when watching on a large-screen television set).

Although I will have to say that some of the shows in this DVD set don't pass the "Freeze-Frame Test" quite as well as other episodes in this collection and in the first volume of Season One. (Every episode in Volume 1 passed this test, by the way.)

By that I mean: when the image on screen is paused and then "stepped" forward, frame-by-frame, the picture quality for some of the episodes within this set isn't quite as rock-solid and stable as can be found in other episodes.

This is especially noticeable whenever written words are shown on the screen (particularly the "stenciled" type of outlined lettering that is used for a lot of the on-screen text in "The Fugitive"). On slightly lesser-quality DVD transfers, the letters on the screen will "break up" (for lack of a better term) as the film frames are advanced.

The "freeze" test is something I usually do when attempting to gauge the overall quality of a DVD transfer. But, at the same time, any "break-ups" that do, in fact, occur in this set probably won't even be noticed by anyone unless they frequently utilize the "pause" button on their remote control when the episodes are playing. Because in "play" mode there really isn't very much difference (to my eyes) between the DVD transfers that possess rock-solid, always-stable lettering on the screen and the transfers that suffer from "lettering break-up". (I'm just an old fusspot for bringing this up in the first place, aren't I?) ;)

Anyway, even with a few episodes that perform in a slightly unstable fashion based on my little "Freeze-Frame Test", these "Fugitive" episodes still look remarkably good overall (picture-wise and sound-wise).

And, by the way, I was happy to note that my very favorite episode from this batch of shows -- "Search In A Windy City" -- does indeed pass the "freeze" test with flying colors. (Or should I say flying "black-and-whites" here?) :)

"Windy City", unlike the other three shows on Disc #1, can be paused in absolute perfect clarity, sans any of the jagged edges (or "breaking up") that I was talking about before. That made me smile...for sure.

I might as well add my full "Freeze-Frame Test" results here (since I went ahead and "tested" each of the 15 programs for such a thing (just because of my fusspot nature, I guess). .....

More than half of the episodes in this 4-Disc set "passed" the "freeze/pause" test (8 of the 15 shows, to be exact). In case anybody is interested, those eight episodes are the following shows (based on the episode numbers provided later in this review): #19, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, and #30.

So, everything considered, my compliments definitely go to Paramount/CBS Studios for treating an iconic TV series like "The Fugitive" the way it deserves to be treated -- with great care and attention paid to producing the highest-quality DVD transfers possible.

Having these eminently-rewatchable "Fugitive" episodes digitally preserved for all time to the high standards that can be found in the two first-season DVD sets that have thus far been released by Paramount is certainly something for Fuge fans to be very pleased about. I know I am anyway.

Like the first DVD volume, Paramount has included two disclaimers on the Volume Two packaging, warning purchasers about possible (but not specifically verified) edited episodes and a warning regarding some music changes.

The warning about the "changed" music is definite, per the text on the case, although I'm fairly certain it has nothing to do with the outstanding Pete Rugolo theme or any of the equally exquisite background music we hear integrated throughout each episode. The altered music must be some material that is heard on a radio or a TV (or elsewhere) during one or more of these fifteen episodes.

I, myself, thus far haven't noticed anything that particularly leaps out as being drastically different from what I remember seeing or hearing previously during these shows. And the average running time of more than 51 minutes per show certainly bodes well for these episodes being pretty much intact and uncut. If anything's missing here, it sure can't be very much, that's for sure.

But, then too, even though I'm a big fan of "The Fugitive", I'll admit I haven't memorized every last minute of each scene prior to the release of these DVDs. So a minor, subtle musical change or a small edit somewhere in an episode probably won't trigger any kind of "That's Been Changed!" reaction on my part. But perhaps that kind of reaction will occur in other people.

~shrug~

===================

SCREEN SHOTS:

To see some sample images from this DVD boxed set (courtesy of DVDBeaver.com),
go HERE.

===================

MORE DVD SPECS:

The Packaging: This package blends in perfectly with the Season 1, Volume 1 set. A clear, standard-sized "Amaray" type case holds all four DVDs, providing a space-saving footprint for these "Fugitive" sets. Episode information is printed on the wrap-around insert sleeve, and is visible when DVDs 1 and 4 are removed from their disc trays.

This style of DVD case is nice and compact, with a very good type of disc-holding device (hub). The DVDs aren't held so tight that it drives you nuts when trying to remove a disc; but they aren't too loose either. I haven't had any "floaters" in the mail when DVDs have been attached to the type of disc-holders we find in these "Fugitive" sets.

About the only thing that would have made the packaging any better here, in my opinion, would have been if a quick-reference disc-by-disc episode list could have been included on the back of the case (similar to the way Paramount has done with its last six seasonal DVD releases of "The Andy Griffith Show").

But with these "Fugitive" DVDs, you've got to remove Discs 1 and 4 from their holders in order to get a look at the episode information which is visible underneath those discs. It's not a major hassle, but a list of episodes elsewhere on the package would have been useful too (IMHO).

Bonus Material: None (except for some Paramount DVD "Previews", which are included on the first disc only). And there's a slight change from Volume One when loading up Disc #1, with this second volume's first disc taking you straight to the menu screen after the initial warnings and logos go by, instead of making you choose between going to "Previews" or "Main Menu" upon disc start-up (as is the case for Volume One). That's a nice change that saves a little bit of time.

Video: 1.33:1 Full-Frame TV ratio (OAR).

Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. English only.

Subtitles: None. English "Closed Captioning", however, is included.

Chapter Breaks: 7 per show, with each break coming at an appropriate location throughout each program -- at the end of each "Act", as well as a break just after the opening credits and right after the "Epilog" scene.

I very much like the ability to go straight to the very beginning of a particular "Act" in any episode via these DVDs. This chaptering was perfectly done by Paramount. And it's just another small factor that makes this DVD product an excellent one, in my own opinion.

Paper Enclosures: None.

Menus: Simple as can be. No animation. No music. No Sub-Menus. Just one Menu per disc, which serves as both the Main Menu and the Episode Menu, providing instant access to the 3 or 4 programs on each disc (plus a "Play All" feature).

The "Play All" buttons on the four discs are a little different from the first "Fuge" set, being highlighted in darker, bolder text to offset the regular text used for the episode titles. It's just a very small change, but, like the "Preview" change, one that's for the better, IMO.

===================

THE EPISODES:

Following is a list of the 15 episodes that show up on these four DVDs. I've added a brief description for some of the shows, plus a look at Kimble's alias for each week's program, along with the episode numbers and the original ABC-TV air dates. .....

17. "Come Watch Me Die" (January 21, 1964) .... Alias: "Ben Rogers". .... This episode features some good character actors that pop up in other "Fugitives" as well; and keep an eye open for Diane Ladd as a waitress. I don't recall ever having seen this episode prior to this DVD release.

It's an unusual episode in some respects, one of which is that Richard Kimble finds himself in the unlikely position of becoming a sheriff's deputy. And there's also the fact that part of the plotline had me totally fooled until near the very end of the show. (I like the fact that an episode could pull the wool over my eyes....and Richard Kimble's too.)

19. "Search In A Windy City" (February 4, 1964) .... Alias: "George Blake". .... Intro by Barry Morse. .... This is one of the very best shows in the 4-year history of "The Fugitive" (IMHO), with a terrific "double chase" taking place within this episode -- Lt. Philip Gerald is hot on Kimble's trail; while at the same time, Dr. Kimble (for the first time) actually sees and pursues the elusive one-armed man. Everything about this episode spells tension-filled excitement.

Bill Raisch, as the one-armed man, actually only made ten total appearances throughout the series (not counting flashbacks or the opening "montage" for each show), making his guest-starring appearances all the more special and memorable due to their relative infrequency.

Pat Hingle also co-stars in "Windy City", and gives an impressive performance too, as a newspaper reporter (Mike Decker) who at first helps Kimble, but then has other ideas.

20. "Bloodline" (February 11, 1964) .... Alias: "Dick Lindsay".

21. "Rat In A Corner" (February 18, 1964) .... Alias: "Dan Crowley". .... Warren Oates gives a fine performance in a guest role as the self-centered "rat" alluded to in the show's title.

22. "Angels Travel On Lonely Roads; Part 1" (February 25, 1964) .... Alias: "Nick Walker". .... The 2-Part "Angels" episode is worthy of as much praise as I can possibly muster. These are incredibly good shows, due in no small part to guest-star Eileen Heckart's wonderful performance as "Sister Veronica", a nun who is travelling cross-country in a rattletrap of a car and happens upon the always-helpful Dr. Kimble during her journey.

Kimble joins the Sister on her trip to California (as driver, repairman, bread-winner, and hitch-hiker), with the pair encountering several obstructions and roadblocks that impede their progress. This two-parter demands to be viewed again and again. I appreciate its greatness more deeply with each successive screening. Magnificent in all respects.

24. "Flight From The Final Demon" (March 10, 1964) .... Alias: "Al Dexter". .... Carroll O'Connor guests as a sheriff who stumbles across the forever-running Dr. Kimble. .... "I couldn't just stand there and let 'lard belly' take you in."

25. "Taps For A Dead War" (March 17, 1964) .... Alias: "Bob Davies". .... More fine guest-star performances are on tap in "Taps", with both Tim O'Connor and Lee Grant showing off their considerable acting skills.

26. "Somebody To Remember" (March 24, 1964) .... Alias: "Johnny Sherman". .... A highly-memorable "Gerard-chasing-Kimble" installment. A co-worker of Kimble's arranges a slick-sounding little plot, which involves "duping" Lt. Gerard into believing Kimble has left the country. This one's a real suspense-builder right to the end. A truly great episode.

27. "Never Stop Running" (March 31, 1964) .... Alias: "Doc". .... The fetching Joanna Moore is featured as one of the guest stars in this episode. And, as usual, she's excellent. Joanna makes this episode extra worthy of praise. And, as an added bonus, she passes the good ol' "Freeze-Frame Test" (and then some) at precisely the 7:40 mark of this episode too.

28. "The Homecoming" (April 7, 1964) .... Alias: "David Benton".

29. "Storm Center" (April 14, 1964) .... Alias: "Larry Phelps".

30. "The End Game" (April 21, 1964) .... No alias used. .... The first-season wrap-up features another worthy manhunt, orchestrated by the always-persistent Philip Gerard. Guest stars John Fiedler and John McGiver provide some comic relief in this episode, which closed out a fabulous rookie season for this Quinn Martin production.

===================

A PARTING FUGE THOUGHT:

If you bought Volume 1 of the first "Fugitive" season on DVD, then this second volume practically becomes mandatory. There's no way that any fan of this remarkable TV series will want to miss out on owning this outstanding collection of top-notch shows.

There probably ought to be a law requiring everyone with a DVD player to obtain this set of "Fugitive" discs. (In fact, I think Lieutenant Gerard was instrumental in getting such a sensible law placed on the books in late 2007. I'll check on that statute.)

David Von Pein
February 2008

THE FUGITIVE: SEASON TWO, VOLUME ONE
(THE "REPLACEMENT DISCS" VERSION)

After eight months of extreme displeasure and "Oh My God, How Can Paramount Treat A Classic Series Like This So Shabbily?!" backlash from fans of "The Fugitive" due to the fact that every single bit of background music for these fifteen episodes on DVD was replaced with new (and less-appealing) musical arrangements, CBS/Paramount pulled a real surprise out of their hat on February 17, 2009, when that DVD studio officially announced that it was introducing a Replacement Disc Program for "THE FUGITIVE: SEASON 2, VOLUME 1". [Details HERE.]

And I'm one of those "Fugitive" fans who was certainly thrilled to hear that particular announcement, because it means that Peter Rugolo's exquisite music for this series has been inserted back into each of these 15 episodes on the replacement DVDs. And most of the CBS Library music that accompanied each of these shows when they first aired in 1964 has also been put back onto the soundtrack for these four DVDs as well.

So, maybe I was right when I said this last June:

"Hopefully enough fans of this exquisite series known as "THE FUGITIVE" will make a big enough stink so that Paramount will feel compelled to right this atrocious wrong. They did fix a problem with some "Andy Griffith" laugh tracks a while back, remember. So they aren't totally unreasonable when it comes to responding to public opinion and/or outcries (and I can only assume that Paramount didn't fix those TAGS tracks on their own, sans any outside prodding from some angry consumers). .... Paramount must fix this. Not fixing this appalling hack job that has been done to one of the finest shows ever to grace the tube would be like leaving a bunch of graffiti all over the Mona Lisa and not caring about it at all."
-- DVP; June 10, 2008

Thank you, CBS/Paramount, for listening to the many outraged fans of this outstanding TV series, and for re-doing these DVDs with Mr. Rugolo's music intact. Some of the newly-created music score (composed mostly by Mark Heyes) can still be heard in several of these episodes. But for the most part, the original 1960s background music is back where it belongs.

"The Fugitive" is a series that relies quite heavily on its musical arrangements (composed mainly by Peter Rugolo). A lot of the mood, soul, drama, and atmosphere of this television series rest within its music. And when Paramount ripped the musical guts out of the first fifteen episodes of Season 2 by releasing this DVD set in June 2008 with completely-different background music, it was a very bitter pill to swallow for fans of the series (and fans of Mr. Rugolo). The episodes just aren't the same without that famous Rugolo (and CBS Music Library) underscore. And, thankfully, Paramount Home Entertainment has apparently realized that fact as well.

Overall, I'd have to say that I'm very pleased with the final "music" results on these replacement discs, and even Mr. Heyes' arrangements seem to blend in fairly well with the original Rugolo and CBS cues in the locations where Heyes' material is retained. I haven't heard any of the annoying and loud "blasts" of Heyes' music that appear many times on the 2008 re-scored discs.

I think "Man On A String" is probably the episode that has the most Heyes music retained for these replacement discs, especially in Act IV, which is "Heyes heavy" to be sure.

ADDITIONAL MUSIC NOTE: Fortunately for Fugitive fans, CBS/Paramount has restored almost all of the original 1960s music on all four seasons of the series for its complete-series DVD mega-set, "The Fugitive: The Most Wanted Edition".

==========================

REVIEW OF SEASON 2, VOLUME 1:

David Janssen is back as Dr. Richard Kimble in "THE FUGITIVE: SEASON TWO, VOLUME ONE", the greatest dramatic series ever put on television (in my opinion anyway).

Like the two first-season sets, CBS/Paramount serves up 15 "Fugitive" programs in this 4-Disc DVD collection. The episodes appear to be complete and uncut, running about 51-and-a-half minutes each, just as they did when they were first aired on ABC-TV in late 1964.

Just as a sample, here are the exact run times for the four episodes that appear on Disc #1:

"Man In A Chariot" = 51:35

"World's End" = 51:35

"Man On A String" = 51:25

"When The Bough Breaks" = 51:38

The 51+-minute average run time includes the "preview" segments that appear prior to the opening credits for every show. These previews (or trailers) were a new feature implemented for the second season of the series.

However, I'd advise first-time viewers of these classic '60s shows to skip the previews and go directly to "Act I" of each episode, in order to avoid any "spoilers" (or even mini-spoilers) revealed within the preview clips.

Even after having seen each of these episodes numerous times, I still tend to want to skip past the preview/trailer snippets, to avoid having some of the scenes diluted or spoiled when watching the complete program.

Clicking "chapter advance" or "skip" on the remote control after the episode begins playing will bypass the preview section and the opening credits too. You can go straight to "Act I" with one click.

There are a total of 7 individual DVD chapters per show, logically placed at the end of each of the four "Acts" and at the end of the "Epilog" scene for every episode.

The video and audio quality for these fifteen black-and-white shows is very good indeed, with only one (partial) exception to this rule--and that's during a small portion of "Cry Uncle", where parts of Act II of that episode suffer from some apparent damage to the original film print, resulting in white lines and dots showing up on the screen.

The outdoor scenes (which are abundant in number throughout the four-year history of "The Fugitive") look particularly clear and pristine throughout these DVDs, with only a small amount of grain visible in the indoor scenes as well.

All things considered, I couldn't be more pleased with the way this series looks and sounds on these Paramount DVDs (as of March 2009, that is, thanks to the replacement discs). Like with the Season-One sets, this first volume of Season Two contains a notation on the back of the case which indicates that these episodes have been "TRANSFERRED FROM THE ORIGINAL NEGATIVE WITH RESTORED AUDIO".

Every single episode in the 120-show lifespan of "The Fugitive" (1963-1967) is definitely a worthwhile experience (IMO). Of course, different people are bound to have their personal favorites vs. some episodes that didn't quite make the top grade.

Below are some sample DVD images from "The Fugitive: Season 2, Volume 1", courtesy of "DVD Beaver". Click on each picture to see a larger version:

==========================

DVD INFO:

Packaging: Nice and compact. For the "replacement" DVD set which was made available to customers in February 2009, a standard-sized (0.5-inch wide) Keep Case is used, with two swinging "pages" in the middle of the case that hold all four discs. And no "overlapping" discs either, which is a plus, because the discs don't have to touch each other.

The first version of this set that was released in June 2008 (the set with the butchered music soundtrack) comes in a slightly-different type of case, with only two discs attached to a single "page/leaf" in the middle, with Discs 1 and 4 being housed on hubs that are attached to the front and back panels of the case, thus covering up the episode descriptions that are printed underneath those two discs.

So, this packaging switch is another reason to say "Thank You" to CBS/Paramount for a change they made to this DVD set -- because the new (and better) case design allows for the episode titles and synopses to be easily seen without having to remove Discs 1 and 4 from their hubs.

In my opinion, DVD companies should always provide a list of episodes on the back of each case (just like CBS/Paramount has done in the past with some of its TV-on-DVD releases, such as the last six seasons of "The Andy Griffith Show"). That type of at-a-glance episode list on the back of a DVD case, which is not provided for "The Fugitive" sets, is very useful and helpful.

Video: 1.33:1 Full-Frame. Black-and-white.

Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono.

Subtitles: None. English Closed-Captioning is available, however.

Chapter Breaks: 7 per episode.

Bonus Stuff: None. (Except for some DVD Promos on Disc 1.)

The 4 Discs: Single-sided, Dual-layered. (Oh, yes, each disc is also cylindrical in shape and has a hole in the middle of it. I would be remiss if I omitted those important details.)

Menus: Static; No music; No Episode Sub-Menus. A "Play All" button is included on all four discs. [Sample Menu picture below.]

==========================

THE EPISODES:

Here's a look at the fifteen "Fugitive" episodes that are included in this 4-Disc collection (episode numbers 31 through 45 in the series), plus original air dates, Richard Kimble's aliases, and a few descriptive passages for some of my favorite shows:

31. "Man In A Chariot" (First Aired: September 15, 1964) .... Alias: "Frank Borden". .... Season 2 begins in fine fashion with "Man In A Chariot", which stars Ed Begley Sr. as G. Stanley Lazer, a bitter and partially-disabled college professor/lawyer.

This episode doesn't feature the always-welcome presence of the late Barry Morse as Lt. Philip Gerard, but it's a winner nonetheless, thanks to an intriguing script and the fine acting performance turned in by 63-year-old Begley (and Janssen too, as always).

32. "World's End" (September 22, 1964) .... Alias: "Mr. May". .... Intro by Barry Morse. .... The great Suzanne Pleshette, who passed away at the age of 70 in January 2008, makes her first of two very impressive guest-starring appearances in "The Fugitive". Suzanne perfectly portrays "Ellie Burnett", a former love interest of Richard Kimble's from their hometown of Stafford, Indiana.

Ellie, who has a lead on the possible whereabouts of the mysterious and slippery one-armed man, is able to contact Kimble via a personal newspaper ad, which brings about a reunion between the two in Kansas City, Missouri.

But there's a slight hitch -- Lt. Gerard knows Ellie and her family and is once again hot on Kimble's trail, with the help of the Kansas City police, including guest star Dabney Coleman.

"World's End" ranks as one of my very favorite episodes in the "Fuge" run. Everything about it is just about perfect, including more "Gerard Chasing Kimble" action, a good script with a few twists and turns to keep us guessing, and (best of all) the beautiful Suzanne Pleshette in a good role with lots of screen time.

While looking through Ed Robertson's excellent 1993 book, "The Fugitive Recaptured", I found the following excerpt which relates to this "World's End" episode. It's a 1993 quote from Suzanne Pleshette:

"It was wonderful to see 'World's End' again, because I hadn't seen that show since I did it back in '64. .... David [Janssen] was a natural--ahead of his time in many ways. His talent was so great that he made it look seamless, and effortless. He was a skilled professional who never really received the kind of appreciation as an actor that he truly deserved."

As far as the background music in "World's End", it sounds to me as though the entire original 1964 score is here, which I was happy to hear, particularly for the scene at the beginning of Act IV when Lt. Gerard is trying to pry Ellie's and Kimble's whereabouts out of Ellie's mother. That scene's music exudes a lot of deep feeling and emotion, and having it placed back into this episode where it's supposed to be is a major benefit to this first-rate "Fugitive" installment.

A little more about "World's End" and some other fun Fuge talk can be found in my review on this Amazon.com webpage.

33. "Man On A String" (September 29, 1964) .... Alias: "Joe Walker".

34. "When The Bough Breaks" (October 6, 1964) .... Alias: "Pete Broderick". .... Guest star Diana Hyland is magnificent in this episode. And I really hadn't fully appreciated her powerful performance until re-watching this episode after receiving the new "replacement" discs from Paramount. But Diana is truly excellent here in her role as a disturbed young woman who has a chance meeting on a freight train with our favorite fugitive, Dr. Richard Kimble. Hyland's scenes in the hospital are especially memorable.

35. "Nemesis" (October 13, 1964) .... No alias used. .... Intro by Barry Morse. .... This is another of my favorite episodes and probably the one I've watched more than any other (thanks to this VHS tape, which teams up "Nemesis" with another all-time fave, "World's End", on the same videocassette). The VHS version is pretty good too, but the quality on these Paramount DVDs is, as to be expected, much better.

"Nemesis" is a unique episode, in that it places Lt. Gerard's son ("Phil Jr.", played very nicely by 13-year-old Kurt Russell) in a situation where he unwittingly becomes the travelling companion of the fleeing Dr. Kimble.

But this unlikely teaming of Phil Jr. and Kimble manifests itself in a very natural and believable way through the show's excellent script (written by Harry Kronman).

When Lt. Gerard discovers that his young son is in the company of the convicted murderer that the Lieutenant has been chasing for these many months, it puts him in a rather precarious and awkward position. He wants desperately to recapture Dr. Kimble, but he's also concerned, quite naturally, for the safety of his son at the same time.

"Nemesis" offers up several memorable moments, such as Kimble's initial reaction when he finds out who his back-seat stowaway really is (David Janssen's facial expression is spot-on perfect).

The scene where Kimble slugs a police officer is a good one too (with the good doctor using not only his fists as a weapon, but also a radio that happens to be handy). And after disabling the policeman, even though he's just belted an armed officer of the law, we get a taste of the kind of non-violent man Dr. Richard Kimble truly is--deep down inside--when he decides to NOT take the officer's rifle with him as he escapes.

That's a pattern established by the writers of "The Fugitive" throughout the whole four-year term of the series, i.e., even when given the perfect opportunity to arm himself with a weapon (be it a handgun or a rifle or whatever), Kimble always opts to abandon the weapon.

Those very types of small, easily-overlooked moments have always struck me as instances of subtle nuance injected into the scripts by the show's many very capable writers, permitting a little more of Dr. Kimble's true, inner character to be revealed, without the doctor ever having to utter a word.

I also want to take a moment to say some (very) good things about the DVD picture quality of "Nemesis". Now I must say that all of these episodes look excellent on these DVDs, but I happened to notice an extra level of excellence emanating from "Nemesis", and I noticed it especially in the nighttime scene of Kimble and Phil Jr. in the woods (the scene where Phil Jr. builds a fire, much to the dismay of Dr. Kimble).

It helps if you watch that nighttime scene in a darkened room, in order to fully appreciate the deep level of black and the blemish-free overall quality exhibited in that scene. Perhaps I'm nuts, but that scene just looks exceptionally sensational to my eyes.

"Nemesis" Music Note -- I'm happy to report that this episode (one of my all-time favories in the history of the series; did I say that already?) seems to have every bit of its original '64 musical score back in place. And it's a darn good score too, particularly the pulse-pounding scene at the fish hatchery when Kimble escapes in the sheriff's station wagon. And all of the great Rugolo music that makes that scene so extra good and tense is exactly where it should be on Disc #2 of this DVD set.

37. "Tug Of War" (October 27, 1964) .... Alias: "Paul Kelly". .... Arthur O'Connell is excellent as one of the main guest stars in this episode. Kimble is captured by O'Connell, an ex-sheriff. But does Dr. Kimble remain a prisoner for very long? (I'll bet you know the answer to this one already.)

But there are a few good twists and turns along the way. "Tug Of War", like the vast majority of "Fugitive" episodes, is a good, solid entry in the series.

The "Kimble Can't Remember Anything" premise is a good one on which writer Larry Cohen and director Jerry Hopper build the foundation for "Escape Into Black". And since Kimble can't recall who he is during this episode, he also cannot remember whether or not he really killed his wife.

There's a classic scene in this episode which has a confused and groggy Dr. Kimble actually calling Lt. Gerard to say he is going to turn himself in. "I understand you've been looking for me," Kimble tells Gerard on the telephone.

Kimble then arranges for Gerard to meet him at the train station in Stafford. But Gerard decides he'll intercept his elusive prisoner a little earlier, which brings about another "oh so close to getting caught" moment for Dr. Kimble.

40. "The Cage" (November 24, 1964) .... Alias: "Jeff Parker".

41. "Cry Uncle" (December 1, 1964) .... Alias: "Pat Thomas". .... 10-year-old Ronny Howard, who must have been given a break during the filming of Season 5 of his regular TV series ("The Andy Griffith Show"), appears as "Gus" in "Cry Uncle".

Other familiar faces in this episode include Edward Binns, Brett Somers, and Donald Losby. You might remember Losby as Vera Miles' and Brian Keith's son in the 1963 pilot episode of "The Fugitive" ("Fear In A Desert City").

43. "The Iron Maiden" (December 15, 1964) .... Alias: "Mr. Parker". .... There's a solid guest-starring performance in this episode turned in by Nan Martin, who also was excellent in her guest role as the boozing wife of Pat Hingle in the Season-One "Fugitive" episode "Search In A Windy City".

44. "Devil's Carnival" (December 22, 1964) .... No alias used. .... Warren Oates makes a return "Fuge" appearance here (he also had a terrific part in the Season-One episode "Rat In A Corner").

"Devil's Carnival" is a bit of a misfire when compared to other episodes in the series. The storyline is a little on the strange side (IMO), but David Janssen and Warren Oates are always worth watching on screen (regardless of how strange the script might be).

Paige does a nice job in her part as Helen's look-alike, although she doesn't really look like Helen Kimble (who was played in other episodes of the series by Diane Brewster). But, I guess we'll have to overlook that difficulty.

Unfortunately, Janis Paige's musical number has been replaced by Paramount for this DVD release (even in the 2009 "replacement" set). Apparently the studio could not secure all of the rights to some of the music in this episode.

Paramount Home Entertainment has done a very nice job of presenting the first season-and-a-half of "The Fugitive" in exceptional quality on DVD (particularly since Paramount has decided to make available to consumers [at least for a limited time period, at any rate] a version of Season 2, Volume 1 that reflects the way it should have been released in the first place--with the vast majority of the original 1964 music intact throughout these 15 episodes).

I would prefer to have the seasons available in complete-season DVD sets instead of the half-year compilations we're getting, but I'm certainly not going to throw any stones at Paramount because of that decision. I'm just pleased that this superlative TV series is being released on DVD, period.

With the March 31, 2009, DVD release of "THE FUGITIVE: SEASON 2, VOLUME 2", exactly one-half of the 120 episodes of "The Fugitive" have been made available on stunning-looking Digital Discs from CBS/Paramount.

Episode numbers 46 through 60 of this distinguished and, in my opinion, peerless 1960s dramatic television series show up in crisp, clear black-and-white on this 4-Disc DVD set.

As far as the music goes for this collection of episodes, it sounds to me as if there's a lot more of Mark Heyes' new music (i.e., the background music that sucks) in this S2V2 set than there is the S2V1 "fixed" set, which was made available to customers by Paramount in February 2009 to replace the horrid original DVD release of S2V1, which had all of the original 1964 music ripped out of it.

Peter Rugolo's original "Fugitive" music is in place throughout each episode in this S2V2 set, but there are still many, many places in these episodes where the new replacement music pops up, which is almost always much worse than the original Rugolo/CBS music. But, thankfully, the new stuff doesn't totally dominate each and every episode.

Still, it's a terrible shame, in my opinion, that this exceptional TV show known as "The Fugitive" (which I consider to be the best dramatic series ever to air on U.S. television) can't be released on DVD in its complete, unaltered, as-it-originally-aired form.

But I will say this as well -- A slightly-musically-altered "Fugitive" on DVD is still better than no "Fugitive" at all on DVD.

Perhaps we should try to get Police Lieutenant Philip Gerard to pass a law that requires all "Fugitive" episodes to always be released on Digital Versatile Disc in 100% unmutilated fashion....with the penalty for breaking this strict law being -- Having to listen to the totally-ruined soundtrack on Paramount's June 2008 initial DVD release of "The Fugitive: Season 2, Volume 1" (the unfixed "All Heyes" version).

With a law like that one on the books, there's no way that CBS/Paramount would ever tamper with this one-of-a-kind TV series ever again.

===================

SEASON TWO, VOLUME TWO:

Falsely accused and sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit, Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen) is kept on his toes and, as always, on the run throughout these fifteen programs that close out a very successful sophomore year for "The Fugitive".

The popular series ended up as the #5 program on television for the 1964-1965 season, garnering an overall Nielsen rating for that season of 27.9, which meant that almost one out of every three homes that owned a TV that year watched the plight of Richard Kimble every Tuesday night on ABC.

"Corner Of Hell" and "Brass Ring" are my two favorite episodes from the second half of Season #2. But several of the other episodes in this DVD set are programs that I don't recall having seen in the past at all. I must have missed taping some of these when the A&E cable network ran reruns of "The Fugitive" in 1995.

So this boxed set is providing this writer with some brand-new television programs to watch. And that's kind of a nice experience too, being able to see some of these episodes for the first time, in uncut form (albeit with a few musical alterations), on these pristine-looking DVDs from CBS/Paramount.

Some of the guest stars that pop up during the last half of Season 2 include the following names (many of them making return "Fugitive" appearances):

Each of the shows in this DVD collection appears to be full-length and uncut, just as they originally aired in early 1965 on the ABC Television Network. The average length is approximately 51.5 minutes per show.

The four episodes on Disc 1 have the following precise running times:

"Brass Ring" -- 51:37

"The End Is But The Beginning" -- 51:39

"Nicest Fella You'd Ever Want To Meet" -- 51:28

"Fun And Games And Party Favors" -- 51:38

===================

DVD SCREEN CAPTURES:

Here's a sampling of images taken from this Season 2, Volume 2 DVD set, courtesy of DVDBeaver.com (click on each picture for a super-sized version, which amply illustrate the excellent DVD picture quality that exists within these 15 episodes):

===================

MORE DVD INFO:

4-Disc Set.

Single-sided, Dual-layered discs.

No subtitles.

Closed-Captioning is included.

No bonus material.

7 chapter breaks per episode.

Silent/Static menus.

A "Play All" option is available.

Episode information is printed on the inside panels of the clear, see-through DVD case. Two hinged "pages" hold all four of the discs inside the standard-size case. The discs do not overlap each other. It's a nice, space-saving case design.

Packaging (Photo) Note -- The picture of David Janssen on the front of the DVD case is a silly one, IMO. An alternate "wanted" poster of Richard Kimble has been created for the DVD cover, which isn't a realistic "wanted" poster at all.

Why CBS/Paramount didn't simply use a picture of the famous "wanted" poster of Kimble that is seen in many episodes throughout the series is a mystery to me. The "real" poster would have been a much better choice for the DVD cover art, instead of a newly-created fake one.

===================

THE EPISODES:

This second volume of Season 2 contains the following episodes (I've thrown in a few comments along the way for some of the shows, plus a look at each of Dr. Kimble's fake names that he used during these fifteen on-the-run adventures, and the dates when the episodes were first shown on ABC-TV):

46. "Brass Ring" (First Aired: January 5, 1965) .... Alias: "Ben Horton". .... Intro by Barry Morse. .... Angie Dickinson and Robert Duvall start off the second half of this season with great style, as each puts in a solid acting performance in "Brass Ring". Kimble, as Ben Horton, acquires a job to care for the wheelchair-bound Duvall.

The 33-year-old Dickinson (who is supposed to be 26 years old [almost 27] for the purposes of this "Fugitive" script) portrays "Norma Sessions", a woman who certainly isn't all that she seems to be on the surface.

"Brass Ring" contains an interesting combination of sad, happy, bittersweet, and poignant moments, and Act IV provides ample twists and turns to keep you guessing (along with a final scene with Duvall that is really quite chilling....and disturbing, IMO).

Unfortunately, however, this episode is pretty much totally ruined (IMO) by the "new" substitute music that permeates many different portions of it, particularly during the crucial scene in Act III which has Duvall suddenly sitting up in bed on his own. The replacement music in that important scene just cannot compare to the original 1965 underscore. And the climax of Act III is destroyed by the heavy use of "new" composer Mark Heyes' loud horns.

Plus, all of the "merry-go-round" music from the original "Brass Ring" soundtrack has been replaced with new music too, which is also inferior when compared to the original '65 score. What a shame.

But at least the picture quality shines anyway. All of these shows, in fact, look great on these DVDs. It's just too bad that in several places throughout the episodes the music had to be changed.

I think "Brass Ring" bothered me the most when it comes to these occasional music alterations. The slight background musical changes in the other episodes within this 4-Disc set don't seem to annoy me nearly as much as "Brass Ring" did/does.

"[The episode "Corner Of Hell"] initially focused on the sadistic nature of Tully's police-hating community. In the first draft of the script, for example, Gerard is completely humiliated: not only do Tully's people relieve the lieutenant of his gun, they strip him of his shoes and socks, so that when he is returned from the woods after his escape attempt, his feet are badly cut and bruised.

"The story originally took place at night, which made Gerard's ordeal more harrowing--in the darkness, he is attacked by thousands of cargo spiders, and later runs into a swarm of bees. And before Gerard is "sentenced," he endures a shower of beer, cigar burns on his leg, and numerous kickings and beatings.

"Apparently, the authors realized that the torment was excessive, because [co-writer of the teleplay Francis Irby] Gwaltney made a handwritten note at the end of the first draft to "emphasize the trial more," particularly in the fourth act." -- Page 98 of "THE FUGITIVE RECAPTURED: THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY COMPANION TO A TELEVISION CLASSIC" (c.1993)

52. "Moon Child" (February 16, 1965) .... Alias: "Bill Martin".

53. "The Survivors" (March 2, 1965) .... No alias used. .... Intro by Barry Morse. .... In this unique episode, Dr. Kimble returns to the Indiana town of Fairgreen, where he first met his wife-to-be, Helen Waverley, ten years earlier. He re-enters the lives of the Waverley family, and as a result re-opens the still-fresh wounds left behind by Helen's tragic murder. An excellent episode.

57. "Runner In The Dark" (March 30, 1965) .... Aliases: "Tom Burns" and "Phil Mead". .... For the second time in Season 2, Ed Begley Sr. makes an impressive guest-starring "Fugitive" appearance.

58. "A.P.B." (April 6, 1965) .... Alias: "Ed Morris".

59. "The Old Man Picked A Lemon" (April 13, 1965) .... Alias: "Jim Wallace". .... Celeste Holm heads the list of guest stars for this "Fugitive" entry. Celeste would later also co-star in a Season-Four episode as well.

It's nice to at least now be at the halfway point toward the completion of this stellar TV series being released in its hoped-for very deserved entirety on DVD.

And Paramount's relatively quick and timely release schedule for these half-season sets hasn't been very agonizing at all for fans of this impeccable series who, like myself, no doubt have a desire to collect all 120 episodes on DVD as quickly as they can.

So my advice is this (despite a few complaints about the replacement music) -- Race with Dr. Richard Kimble to the 50-yard line of "The Fugitive" on DVD by grabbing a copy of "Season Two, Volume Two" right now.

This CBS/Paramount DVD set, "THE FUGITIVE: SEASON 3, VOLUME 1", was made available on October 27, 2009, and it's a 4-Disc collection of 15 episodes that mirrors the other DVD sets in this series (in both packaging and image quality).

These fifteen black-and-white shows look absolutely beautiful on Digital Disc, thanks to the care and remastering effort put into these "Fugitive" releases by CBS/Paramount Home Entertainment. The clarity and crispness of the video we find on these discs is virtually perfect. And the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono audio is quite good as well.

==================

ABOUT THE MUSIC:

I was very pleased to find that the vast majority of Pete Rugolo's and CBS' original background music from 1965 has been left untouched and is intact throughout this 15-episode DVD collection.

A little bit of "replacement" music can be heard in this set (which is never a good thing, in my view), but for the most part I'm quite satisfied with the way this first half of Season 3 sounds on these DVDs. Overall, there is very little of the Mark Heyes replacement music incorporated into these Season-Three episodes.

And from what I could tell, the original 1965 background score for the exemplary episode "Landscape With Running Figures" is almost all intact on Disc #3 of this set, which pleases me very much.

I didn't perform a note-by-note evaluation of all the music in "Landscape", but I did do a few random comparisons between the DVD and a VHS version of the episode that I recorded myself off of the A&E cable-TV network in 1995, and I only noticed one very small change in any of the music in either of the two parts, and that was when some low-key substitute music can be heard in Act I of Part 1, near the beginning of the episode as Kimble is coming out of the restroom.

==================

ABOUT SEASON 3:

The third, and next-to-last, season of "The Fugitive" (starring the late David Janssen as the forever-on-the-run Dr. Richard Kimble) was originally seen on network television back in 1965 and 1966.

Executive producer Quinn Martin and producer Alan Armer knew they had a truly great TV series on their hands with "The Fugitive", a series that resulted in many viewers rearranging their lives and personal schedules in order to make sure they would be able to be in front of a television screen at 10:00 PM each Tuesday night to watch the latest installment involving the soft-spoken and wrongly-convicted physician from Indiana.

This third season of the show was watched by an average of 40% of all TV-owning households in the United States throughout the 1965-'66 television season. And it's a season that earned the series the Emmy Award for "Best Dramatic Series" of the year. David Janssen also received an Emmy nomination for his always-solid work during this third year of "The Fugitive".

While looking over the list of episodes that make up this four-disc volume of "Fugitive" programs, it becomes a little bit difficult (for me anyway) to come up with a "Best Of" type of list for this particular DVD set....because I think they're ALL very good shows.

But, I do have my favorites from this batch of shows that shine a little brighter than some of the others. And those favorites from this volume would be:

"All The Scared Rabbits" (which rekindles the great on-screen chemistry between David Janssen and the wonderful Suzanne Pleshette), "Trial By Fire","Crack In A Crystal Ball", "Conspiracy Of Silence", "An Apple A Day", and (saving the best for last) the remarkable two-parter, "Landscape With Running Figures".

==================

A LITTLE ABOUT "LANDSCAPE":

The two-part episode "Landscape With Running Figures" first aired in November of 1965, and it represents two of the very best hours of television viewing anyone had during the '65-'66 season (whether it be while watching "The Fugitive" or any other TV show that season).

The deeply-layered script for "Landscape" was written by just a single man -- Anthony Wilson. And it's a script that brings out just about everything that makes this television series so great -- plus a few things that we don't see too often during the course of Richard Kimble's travels, such as delving into the mindset of Lt. Philip Gerard (Barry Morse) and his wife (wonderfully portrayed by Barbara Rush), plus a glimpse into Dr. Kimble's inner feelings as he reminisces about his life before he was turned into the man everyone wants to slap handcuffs on.

"Landscape With Running Figures", which has Kimble (using the alias "Steve Carver") inadvertently and unknowingly becoming travelling companions with Lt. Gerard's wife, also gives us a look at a deeply-depressed Richard Kimble, which is a side of Kimble we don't see very much during the four years he's on the run from the law.

Some of the things that occur in this two-part episode might seem a tad bit far-fetched or contrived, but when you think about these things from a different perspective, the events that unfold on the screen don't really seem overly contrived or "convenient". And this is due to the presence of the man who is forever chasing and shadowing Dr. Kimble--Lt. Philip Gerard.

In addition, there's also the realistic way the plot elements come together and are presented on the television screen by writer Wilson and Director Walter Grauman.

"Landscape" is a "landmark" 102 minutes of American television, in my opinion. These two episodes provide a large amount of depth to the characters we have been watching for the previous two-plus seasons, along with empathy, compassion, fear, anger, and desperation.

The gamut of greatness (and of emotions) is pretty much run from goal line to goal line in "Landscape With Running Figures". This is a two-parter that deserves to be viewed again and again.

==================

SAMPLE DVD IMAGES:

==================

THE EPISODES:

The 15 episodes in this DVD collection are:

Disc 1:Wings Of An AngelMiddle Of A Heat WaveCrack In A Crystal BallTrial By Fire

Disc 2:Conspiracy Of SilenceThree Cheers For Little Boy BlueAll The Scared RabbitsAn Apple A Day

Disc 3:Landscape With Running Figures (Part 1)Landscape With Running Figures (Part 2)Set Fire To A Straw ManStranger In The Mirror

Disc 4:The Good Guys And The Bad GuysEnd Of The LineWhen The Wind Blows

==================

TRIVIA:

>> "Landscape With Running Figures" was originally written as a one-part episode, instead of the immensely-entertaining two-part installment it ended up being. Producer Alan Armer said: "Tony Wilson came in with 84 pages, and they were beautiful. It was a gorgeous script. [Associate Producer] George [Eckstein] and I decided, rather than try to lop out 25 pages, to add another 30 pages and make it into a two-parter."

>> Barbara Rush, who is simply outstanding as Marie Gerard in "Landscape With Running Figures", was not the first choice for the role. Nor was she the second. She was the third choice, behind Julie Harris and Hope Lange, but neither of those actresses was available to play the part. David Janssen did some lobbying on behalf of his good friend Barbara Rush, and Barbara ultimately ended up landing the part.

>> The episode "All The Scared Rabbits" was initially going to be called "Wanted: Someone To Drive".

>> The original title of the episode "End Of The Line" was "Never Take The Milk Train".

"THE FUGITIVE: SEASON THREE, VOLUME TWO" arrived on DVD from CBS/Paramount on December 8, 2009, just six weeks after the first half of Season 3 was released.

This 4-Disc set contains a great selection of episodes from what is (in my opinion) the very best television drama series that ever aired on American TV screens: "The Fugitive", starring David Janssen as falsely-convicted Dr. Richard Kimble and co-starring London-born actor Barry Morse, who seemingly was born to play the part of Kimble's chief adversary, Indiana Police Lieutenant Philip Gerard.

When I first received this volume and started looking over the episode descriptions on the inside cover of the DVD case, I kept saying to myself over and over: "Oh, that's right, THAT great episode is included in this set too! Excellent!" (or something similar to those thoughts anyway).

And while I consider myself to be a (very) big fan of "The Fugitive" and also fairly well-schooled in the episodes and their themes, etc., I will readily acknowledge that I'm not as much of an "expert" on this brilliant TV series as some other people I have encountered on the Internet, which is probably why I was making the above-mentioned comments to myself as I perused the episode list for this second volume of Season #3. I had simply not remembered that so many truly good episodes of this series would be occupying this DVD collection.

By "truly good episodes", I'm talking about the following "Fugitive" shows, which rank among my own personal favorites from this DVD volume (or from any season of "The Fugitive", for that matter):

>> "Wife Killer", co-starring Bill Raisch as the elusive one-armed man. This episode serves as a great roller-coaster ride, with Kimble chasing down (and catching) the one-armed man ("Fred Johnson") thanks to a car accident which results in Johnson nearly dying.

>> "Ill Wind" features another of the many instances in the series which has Lt. Gerard hot on the heels of Dr. Kimble, with Gerard actually recapturing his prey here, only to lose him again in the end.

This time, Mother Nature plays a big part in allowing Kimble to regain his freedom, as a hurricane forces the hunter and the hunted to take shelter in a rickety barn in southern Texas.

There are some things in "Ill Wind" that seem a bit on the implausible and far-fetched side, such as when Dr. Kimble saves the life of his pursuer not just once--but twice.

But the script (written by Al Ward) is a finely-tuned one, as it skillfully brings Kimble and Gerard together and allows for Kimble's ultimate re-escape from the law in a way that, in the end, doesn't throw credibility completely out the window. This is truly an exceptional installment in the 4-year lifespan of "The Fugitive". Don't miss it.

BTW, the haunting ballad (entitled "The Running Man") that is sung by Tim McIntire throughout "Ill Wind" is completely intact on the DVD, which is very good news indeed.

In fact, every note of music in "Ill Wind" is from the original 1966 version of the show. There's none of the annoying replacement music to be found in this sterling episode, which is more good news. (Although there is less music contained in "Ill Wind" than there is in most other "Fugitive" episodes, mainly due to the hurricane that rages throughout most of the show. The wind from the howling storm was meant to serve as a substitute for music in some spots of the script.)

>> "In A Plain Paper Wrapper" gives 15-year-old Kurt Russell a second opportunity to show up as a guest star. In an earlier episode from Season 2, Russell played Lt. Gerard's son ("Phil Jr."), but here he plays a different character, a boy who purchases a rifle through the mail and plans to capture Richard Kimble with the help of his friends. This is another episode that provides its fair share of good, tense moments, and Lois Nettleton's appearance certainly doesn't detract from the nice scenery either. ;)

>> "This'll Kill You" combines some tender moments with some good action and suspense, as Mickey Rooney guest stars as laundromat operator and former bookie "Charlie Paris", who is double-crossed by his former girlfriend (played nicely by Nita Talbot). Rooney is absolutely wonderful in his part here. A good, solid episode all the way around.

>> "The 2130" has veteran 64-year-old actor Melvyn Douglas making a guest appearance. Douglas' character attempts to aid Lt. Gerard in tracking down Dr. Kimble--with the help of a computer known as "The 2130".

The other shows on this four-disc set are pretty darn good too (a full episode list is provided later in this review), including the extraordinary "Running Scared", which is an episode that I had never once seen prior to getting this DVD collection. It co-stars Jacqueline Scott as Richard Kimble's sister, and Scott is excellent--as always. (Unfortunately, Scott's first name is misspelled in the credits of this episode.)

"Running Scared" had me on pins and needles all the way through it. It's a well-scripted cat-and-mouse nail-biter that was written by Don Brinkley and directed by James Sheldon.

It's an episode that features numerous interesting twists and turns, with Lt. Gerard travelling to Fort Wayne, Indiana, in another effort to recapture Dr. Kimble. The final seconds of Act III are brilliant. And just when I thought things couldn't get any better--along came Act IV.

In my opinion, Act IV of "Running Scared" is one of the best single "Acts" in any "Fugitive" episode during the entire four-year history of the series. The scene which reunites Dr. Kimble with his sister, Donna, is wonderful, with Jacqueline Scott shining especially bright in that scene. There's a tenderness there which seems so genuine and real, you'd almost swear that David Janssen and Jackie Scott were brother and sister in real life.

And the closing moments of Act IV place the final elements of "sheer perfection" on the episode.

I can't say enough good things about "Running Scared". It is simply sensational, and it makes this DVD aggregation worth owning all the more. Moreover, it's an episode that seems to have every note of its original 1966 music score completely intact (from what my ears could detect anyway).

One of the reasons why it's so nice to have complete-season sets of television programs on DVD is that it affords people the opportunity to experience shows like "The Fugitive" for the first time. And, in my case, this particular DVD set has now allowed me to see a first-rate episode of my favorite TV drama for the very first time ever. And I'm grateful for that.

==================

THE MUSIC:

Like with the other CBS/Paramount DVD volumes of "The Fugitive" from Season 2 and Season 3 (but not Season 1), there is replacement music sprinkled throughout most of the 15 episodes in this S3,V2 set, which does not make me happy.

But it does appear to my ears that at least the majority of the original music from 1966 is intact on these DVDs, with a few of these Season-Three episodes escaping without a single note of Mark Heyes' substitute music in them, with those episodes being "Ill Wind", "Shadow Of The Swan", and "Running Scared". (Plus, "Stroke Of Genius" seems to be about 99% Heyes-free.)

Possibly the biggest mystery concerning this "Music Replacement Debacle" (which I think is a reasonable and accurate description for the mess surrounding the "Fugitive" music on the post-Season 1 DVDs) is this:

Why did CBS/Paramount decide to keep the original 1960s music completely intact for several ENTIRE episodes in Seasons 2 and 3, but then also decided to rip out and replace some of the VERY SAME background musical cues in other episodes? It just doesn't make sense.

I'm certainly no expert on music copyright issues, but the random and seemingly willy-nilly fashion in which some of the music on these "Fugitive" DVDs has been removed and replaced with new arrangements is truly baffling to me.

But I am glad that CBS/Paramount at least had the common sense (and the brains) to keep the bulk of composer Peter Rugolo's outstanding music intact and untouched on these DVDs (as well as keeping intact the majority of the background music that originated from the vaults of the CBS Music Library).

And I am also pleased that the people in charge at CBS/Paramount decided not to follow through with their original music-replacement plan for "The Fugitive" from 2008, when CBS Home Entertainment issued this statement:

"Obviously we would have preferred to include all the original music in "The Fugitive" second season DVD release, but unlike season one, there were a large number of cues, the current ownership of which was not clear. We didn't want to disappoint fans by significantly delaying the release of the second season so we chose to replace the music. We kept the original theme song, but decided it would be better to rescore full episodes to give viewers a seamless, consistent experience throughout. Taking everything into consideration, we thought this was the best solution. We hope our track record on previous releases shows that we truly care about classic TV and its fans." -- CBS Home Entertainment; June 17, 2008

But, as CBS/Paramount soon found out from devoted fans of "The Fugitive", that "best solution" was actually the worst possible solution (by far) to the music problem.

The currently-available "Fugitive" DVDs for Season 2 and Season 3 aren't perfect, music-wise, that's for sure. But those discs, which have most of the original 1960s music included on them, are light-years better than CBS' "best solution" alluded to above.

Disc 2:Stroke Of GeniusShadow Of The SwanRunning ScaredThe Chinese Sunset

Disc 3:Ill WindWith Strings AttachedThe White KnightThe 2130

Disc 4:A Taste Of TomorrowIn A Plain Paper WrapperCoralee

==================

SOME DVD SPECS:

>> Video is presented, as it should be, in its originally-aired Full-Frame format (1.33:1). The picture quality is just superb for these black-and-white shows, just like the other volumes in this "Fugitive" series of DVDs distributed by CBS/Paramount.

>> There are no bonus features included (except for a few CBS DVD "Previews" attached to Disc 1).

>> Menus are silent and static (as all DVD menus should be, in my opinion).

>> A "Play All" option is provided on each disc.

>> All episodes seem to be uncut (from the standpoint of "running time", that is), with each show running in the neighborhood of 51-and-a-half minutes.

>> No subtitles. But Closed-Captioning is offered.

>> Seven chapter breaks per episode.

>> The four discs are all single-sided and dual-layered.

==================

SOME "ILL WIND" TRIVIA:

>> The ballad "The Running Man", which is such an integral part of the episode "Ill Wind", was written by "Fugitive" associate producer George Eckstein.

>> "Ill Wind's" original episode title was "Ballad For A Bitter Land".

>> Costumer Steve Lodge recalls a prank that the crew pulled on David Janssen during the filming of "Ill Wind". .... "David was a devoted fan of [the TV series] 'Batman'," Steve explained. "When we found that out, one of the guys on the crew cut a stencil resembling the Bat Signal, then taped it to a baby spotlight while David was rehearsing a scene. .... Then somebody turned on the spotlight so that the Bat Signal was projected onto the [canvas backing] behind David. .... 'What in hell is that thing supposed to mean?' demanded the director, Joe Sargent. David just grinned and said, 'I think that someone's trying to tell me that I'm a 'Bat' actor.'"

Dr. Richard Kimble has been on the run for 90 episodes now, and each of those 90 shows has made its way onto DVD in good-looking form, thanks to the efforts of CBS/Paramount.

The substitute music that must be endured for Season 2 and Season 3 is another issue, of course. But if you're a true-blue fan of this television show, then I honestly believe that every single volume that has been released on DVD to date by CBS/Paramount is worth owning--even with some of the subpar Mark Heyes replacement music randomly thrown into the episodes.

"The Fugitive" (1963-1967) is THAT good. Even with a little Heyes.

I now look forward to the fourth and final season of the series on DVD, which will have a markedly different look to it. For better or for worse...."NEXT -- THE FUGITIVE -- IN COLOR!"

After three seasons in black-and-white, it's now time to watch Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen) run for his life in full living color, with the arrival of

"THE FUGITIVE: THE FOURTH AND FINAL SEASON, VOLUME ONE", a 4-Disc DVD set released by CBS/Paramount on November 2, 2010.

And while I think it's definitely true that the episodes in the fourth and final year of the series are generally not as high in quality (script-wise) when compared to the three previous black-and-white seasons, there are still several very good shows to be found in the last year of the series, including some worthy cat-and-mouse encounters between Kimble and the one-armed man (whom we see a lot more of during season four).

"The Evil Men Do" is my favorite episode in this DVD collection, with guest star James Daly doing everything he can to help out Richard Kimble by attempting to kill Dr. Kimble's pursuer, Indiana Police Lieutenant Philip Gerard. Kimble must then decide what his priorities are: his own freedom or Gerard's life? Some tense moments are in order in Act IV.

These 15 episodes appear to be complete and uncut (about 51 minutes per show), and the color video looks very sharp and clear. In some of the episodes, there is some dirt visible during the title sequences, which I've noticed is a common occurrence on a lot of DVDs.

For some reason, the credit portions of some TV shows and movies on DVD haven't been cleaned up to remove all of the dirt and speckles. Such is the case with some of the title and credit segments in this "Fugitive" set.

But I'd say that CBS/Paramount, overall, did a really nice job with these DVD transfers. The colors look very true and accurate, and the mono audio sounds nice and full and clean too.

I was also pleased to see that the original "in color" bumpers and voice-overs that were shown at the beginning of each of the fourth-season episodes when they first aired in 1966 and 1967 are included on these DVDs. And for the most part, the original background music seems to be intact too, which is very good news indeed.

==================

BONUS MATERIAL:

Unlike all of the earlier "Fugitive" DVD releases, this volume contains English subtitles and a bonus feature. The bonus item is a 10-minute featurette called "Composer Dominic Frontiere: Season Of Change", in which 78-year-old Frontiere is briefly interviewed about his career as a Hollywood music composer and his association with "Fugitive" icons Quinn Martin and Peter Rugolo.

Quite a bit of Frontiere's music is sprinkled throughout many of these fourth-season "Fugitive" programs.

Some interesting tidbits of information are revealed in this short extra. The final three minutes of the ten-minute bonus consist of scenes from the "Fugitive" episode "Second Sight", which features some of Dominic Frontiere's musical handiwork.

The "Season Of Change" featurette is presented in anamorphic widescreen format (approximately 1.85:1).

==================

MISC. INFO:

This 4-Disc set has single-sided DVDs, with either three or four episodes on each disc.

The episodes are presented in Full Frame video (1.33:1); the audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (in English only); there are 7 chapter breaks per show; and the DVD menus are simple, static, quick, and silent (yay!).

And there's one extra menu choice this time around, that being a "Set Up" option for selecting the English subtitles.

The DVD packaging is identical to the first six releases of "The Fugitive", with all four discs fitting comfortably inside a space-saving standard-sized DVD keep case, with two swinging trays inside the case to hold the four DVDs (two per tray).

This "swinging tray" design is nice, in that it allows easy reading of the episode information that is printed on the paper insert that shows through the transparent plastic panels on the left and right sides of the case.

==================

THE EPISODES:

Disc 1:The Last OasisDeath Is The Door PrizeA Clean And Quiet TownSharp Edge Of Chivalry

Disc 3:Approach With CareNobody Loses All The TimeRight In The Middle Of The SeasonThe Devil's Disciples

Disc 4:The Blessings Of LibertyThe Evil Men DoRun The Man Down

==================

SOME PHOTOS:

==================

A FINAL COMMENT:

Richard Kimble's run is almost complete -- 105 episodes on the DVD shelf, with just 15 to go. And these shows have all looked great on Digital Disc, with this first half of Season 4 being no exception.

The fourth-year episodes themselves are a hit-and-miss proposition as far as the quality of the scripts is concerned, but anyone who has started collecting "The Fugitive" on DVD certainly won't want to stop now.

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011: The day a classic was completed (on DVD). That was the date when CBS/Paramount released "THE FUGITIVE: THE FOURTH AND FINAL SEASON: VOLUME TWO" in a 4-Disc DVD set, which means that all 120 episodes of that 1963-1967 television series are now available to own.

In this final batch of 15 color episodes, fugitive Richard Kimble is kept busy, as he continues to elude the law as well as trying to catch up to the one-armed man.

The original 1967 music seems to be totally intact and in place for these last fifteen "Fugitive" shows. And that news deserves a big "hooray".

Some of my favorite episodes in this collection include "The Ivy Maze", "Concrete Evidence", "The Breaking Of The Habit", and "The One That Got Away".

Of course, the top highlight of this DVD set is the famous two-part final episode, "The Judgment". Part 2 of the series finale became the highest-rated and most-watched single television program in the history of the medium when it first aired in the United States on Tuesday, August 29, 1967.

In other countries, however, the finale didn't air until September or October. And even in some parts of the USA, the last episode wasn't shown until September 5, 1967. Hence, a different version of William Conrad's closing narration can be found on some prints of "The Judgment Part 2". This DVD set includes the "September 5th" version of Conrad's narration.

Part 2 of the finale was seen by an amazing 72% of the viewing audience in the United States, with ABC estimating that 26 million U.S. homes tuned in to watch the last "Fuge" show. Those figures are still, to this day, some of the highest ratings ever garnered for a television broadcast. The record was not to be broken for another 13 years, when the "Who Shot J.R.?" episode of "Dallas" eclipsed "The Fugitive's" record in 1980. And then the final episode of "M*A*S*H" surpassed "Dallas" in 1983.

In "The Judgment", Richard Kimble teams up with Indiana Police Lieutenant Philip Gerard to try and capture the real killer of Kimble's wife. Although very dubious about the results, Gerard agrees to delay Kimble's official arrest for 24 hours, so that Dr. Kimble can follow up some leads regarding the whereabouts of the elusive "one-armed man" (played by the hardened-looking Bill Raisch), whom Kimble is certain murdered his wife several years earlier.

While I feel this "teaming" of these two long-time adversaries weakened the last show of the series to a degree, "The Judgment" is still a pretty good concluding episode.

The final scene with Kimble and Gerard shaking hands after Kimble's release from custody is truly a great moment in television history. And this scene is carried out without a word of dialogue being spoken, which provides even a more powerful impact -- rather than having a gushy, overly sentimental final act. The simple, understated handshake said it all.

Jacqueline Scott plays Richard Kimble's sister, Donna. Scott had a recurring role as Donna throughout the four years of the series, appearing in a total of five episodes. She did an excellent job in the role, too.

Diane Brewster appears uncredited in the final episode, as murder victim Helen Kimble, via flashback sequences. You might better remember Brewster in another classic television series, "Leave It To Beaver", as Beaver Cleaver's schoolteacher, "Miss Canfield".

Some "Judgment" facts & trivia:

According to Daily Variety, Part 1 of "The Judgment" received a 37.2 rating and a 56.7 share of the U.S. television market in the USA, while Part 2 garnered a 50.7 rating and a 73.2 share.*

------------

The final two-parter takes place in three different cities -- Tucson, Los Angeles, and Kimble's hometown of Stafford, Indiana. Kimble's last alias he will ever need is that of "Frank Davis". "The Judgment" was co-written by George Eckstein and Michael Zagor, with both parts being directed by Don Medford.

------------

The following memo written by Executive Producer Quinn Martin appeared on the last page of "The Judgment's" teleplay:

To all QM staff, crew, actors, all guest actors, all ABC personnel, all advertising personnel:

This script marks the end of a very exciting and successful enterprise, and I would appreciate it if everyone would keep the contents a secret, and not discuss it with any members of the press or newscasters, except to acknowledge that it does prove Richard Kimble innocent.

To any members of the press or any newscasters:

If the above does not work, and by chance you find out the contents of the script, please honor the industry code of not giving the ending away, except to say Richard Kimble will be proved innocent. Thank you.

Warmest regards,
Quinn Martin *

------------

"In the final scene of the series...the original plan was to have the two adversaries [Dr. Kimble and Lt. Gerard] exchange a few parting words before going their separate ways. "In the first version of that final episode, our writers had gone a little overboard," recalled Barry Morse. "They wrote a scene...in which David [Janssen] and I said sentimental things to each other. At one point, I remember I suggested to David that, in order to mock this overly sentimental dialogue, we should throw ourselves into each other's arms and kiss each other firmly on the mouth! Well, we threatened that, but we never had to carry it out. By that time, we were all on such good terms with each other that everybody realized the absurdity, and it was agreed that we would make some changes in the dialogue. And I think somebody said, 'Well, what would be the best thing to say?' And I said, 'I think it would be best if we say nothing!' As is often...the case on the screen, what you do and what you look is much more eloquent than what you say." " *

Disc 3:The Savage StreetDeath Of A Very Small KillerDossier On A DiplomatThe Walls Of Night

Disc 4:The Shattered SilenceThe Judgment, Part 1The Judgment, Part 2

==================

DVD INFO:

>> Video is Full-Frame (1.33:1), and in color, as originally aired in 1967. The image quality is quite good. The colors look proper and natural. And there's every reason to believe that these episodes are presented complete and uncut here (time-wise), with the shows running for 51+ minutes each. The "in color" bumpers and opening teasers are included.

>> Audio is 2.0 Dolby Digital Mono. Sounds good too.

>> Bonus Feature -- There is one bonus featurette (on Disc 4), entitled "Composer Dominic Frontiere: The Color Of Music". Frontiere talks briefly about his career as a music composer.

This bonus program, which is presented in an anamorphic widescreen format, runs for 11-and-a-half minutes and is a continuation of a conversation with Mr. Frontiere that began with the "Season Of Change" featurette that is included in the fourth season's first DVD volume.

The last 3+ minutes of this bonus supplement include scenes from the final "Fugitive" episode, highlighting Frontiere's music from that show.

>> Menus are static and silent.

>> A "Play All" button is included on each disc.

>> English subtitles are included.

>> Chapter stops -- 7 per episode.

>> Packaging -- Amaray type of keep case, with two swinging "pages" that each holds two DVDs. Episode information is visible through the plastic on the left and right panels of the case. [Side Note -- There's a glaring error in the description for Part 2 of "The Judgment", with the description saying that Gerard and Kimble are headed for "Illinois". Of course, that should say "Indiana" instead. Somebody at CBS/Paramount should have checked out their facts a little better before writing up that episode blurb.]

==================

ADDITIONAL "FUGITIVE" MISCELLANY:

A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF DAVID JANSSEN ("DR. RICHARD KIMBLE"):

Born David Harold Meyer on March 27, 1931, in Naponee, Nebraska. He died of a heart attack at the age of only 48, on February 13, 1980.

Janssen was nominated for an Emmy Award three times (out of four years) for his work on "The Fugitive".

David's roster of acting appearances totalled a little more than 100 television and movie roles, beginning (as a 14-year-old boy) in the 1945 film "It's A Pleasure". Janssen's other big TV role, after "The Fugitive", was when he played private detective Harry Orwell in the series "Harry O" (1974-1976).

---------

A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF BARRY MORSE ("LT. PHILIP GERARD"):

Born Herbert Morse on June 10, 1918, in London, England. Died at the age of 89 on February 2, 2008.

Barry moved to Canada in the 1950s, where he has worked extensively in live theater, radio, and CBC television.

Morse made appearances in more than 130 motion pictures and television programs, starting with a 1942 appearance in the film "The Goose Steps Out".

Many people probably remember Morse best from his role as Professor Victor Bergman in the TV series "Space: 1999", which was on the air from 1975 to 1977.

Morse also was a writer and director within the TV industry, including one episode as director of "The Fugitive" in 1967 during the last season of the series. Morse directed Episode #118, "The Shattered Silence".

In addition to his memorable portayal of Lt. Philip Gerard in "The Fugitive", the long list of TV shows in which Barry Morse appeared includes these programs: "The Untouchables", "The Defenders", "Judd, For The Defense", "The F.B.I.", "Wagon Train", "The Outer Limits", "Naked City", "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour", "The Twilight Zone", and "The United States Steel Hour".

It took 44 years, but all 120 episodes of the never-to-be-forgotten television masterpiece "The Fugitive" have now been made available on the home video market on DVD by CBS/Paramount.

And despite the unpleasant debacle with the background music that fans of this series had to endure beginning in 2008 (which, to Paramount's credit, was corrected--for the most part--in subsequent DVD releases), these 120 TV episodes are programs that deserve to be on the shelf of everyone who enjoys really good television shows.

In its four seasons on the air, "The Fugitive" created a compelling and realistic "running man" atmosphere that I don't think has ever been duplicated on either television or the big screen since Dr. Kimble stopped running in 1967.

And the main spark that created that atmosphere, of course, was the star of the series--David Janssen. And when you throw in the great Barry Morse as the running man's tireless pursuer--how can you lose?